Paul George was one of the leading voices pushing for the Los Angeles Clippers to sign Russell Westbrook from the buyout market this season, so it should come as little surprise that he's now urging the team to give the veteran point guard a new contract this summer.
Speaking on his podcast, "Podcast P," George shared his thoughts on Westbrook's performance during his limited time with the organization and explained why he wants him back on the roster.
"He delivered," George said. "There was a reason I was willing to stick my neck out and vouch for him. He delivered. He came and was an unbelievable locker room guy, great energy, great leader and I think what [Lawrence Frank] loved most about bringing him in, was he was just very adaptable. His role changed when we first got him, with myself and Kawhi out there, to when I went down and it was just him and Kawhi, to when Kawhi went down and it was just him.
"He proved that he is a leader. He proved that he's got a lot left in the tank and for a team like us, the more guys that can be versatile, the better for us. To have a playmaker, have a leader, have a scorer, just a floor general, a rebounder, he just covers so many holes and wears so many hats. He's everywhere... He's just so valuable. We saw what it looks like, [and] we know it works. We know it can be successful. We gotta get him back. I want him back."
When Westbrook's disastrous Los Angeles Lakers tenure ended with a trade to the Utah Jazz and he was subsequently bought out, there were some real questions about his future in the league.
He had a bit of a redemption arc with the Clippers, however, that featured some impressive moments in the playoffs, including clutch plays at the end of their Game 1 win over the Phoenix Suns and a 37-point performance in their Game 4 defeat. At the same time, Westbrook had a 3-of-19 and 3-of-18 shooting performances in that series and turned the ball over 20 times in five games. It's also worth noting that Westbrook spent most of that series with the ball in his hands far more than expected due to injuries to George and Kawhi Leonard.
Overall, Westbrook's performance with the Clippers showed that he can still be a productive, if flawed, player, and that the Lakers fiasco was largely about a terrible fit. Furthermore, a big part of the issue with Westbrook under his previous contract was that he was making max money while no longer being a max player, and prevented his team from adding other players. On a lesser deal, that will no longer be an issue.
All told, Westbrook re-signing with the Clippers probably makes sense for both parties.
